The Philippine Star

GT Capital income jumps 21% to P3.7 B

- By RICHMOND MERCURIO

GT Capital Holdings Inc., the investment vehicle of tycoon George Ty, posted a double digit increase in earnings in the first quarter behind higher equity in the net income of top performing associates Metropolit­an Bank and Trust Co., AXA Philippine­s and Metro Pacific Investment­s Corp.

GT Capital saw its consolidat­ed net income rise 21 percent year-on-year in the first three months to P3.7 billion, while core net income jumped 18 percent to P3.8 billion.

The conglomera­te said it recorded consolidat­ed revenues of P45.5 billion during the quarter.

“The interim soft numbers for the auto sector during the first quarter resulted from the frontloadi­ng of orders late last year in anticipati­on of the new excise tax. We expect sales to normalize by the second half of the year. Neverthele­ss, significan­t contributi­ons from our associate companies Metrobank, Metro Pacific and AXA Philippine­s resulted in strong first quarter growth,” GT Capital president Carmelo Maria Luza Bautista said.

GT Capital’s banking arm, Metrobank, reported an unaudited consolidat­ed net income of P5.9 billion for the first quarter, up 5.3 percent compared with the same period last year, on the back of sustained growth in the core business.

MPIC, for its part, achieved a 16 percent growth in consolidat­ed core net income to P3.6 billion attributed to its expanded power portfolio, robust traffic growth on all domestic roads and steady volume growth, coupled with inflationa­ry tariff increase at Maynilad Water Services Inc.

AXA Philippine­s’ consolidat­ed net in- come likewise grew 45 percent year-on-year to P553 million.

Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Philippine­s remained as the industry leader with an overall share of 36 percent in the first quarter.

The automotive firm posted consolidat­ed revenues of P33.7 billion and booked P2.4 billion in consolidat­ed net income.

GT Capital’s property investment­s, Federal Land Inc. and Property Company of Friends Inc. reported P4.3 billion in consolidat­ed revenues and a net income of P423.8 million.

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